London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
This page requires JavaScript
125
Some results in the school dental service are given in Tables II and III, with figures
of preceding years for comparison. In Table III there is ground for some satisfaction
with the upward trend of conservative treatment.
Table II
| 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of inspection sessions held at schools | 544 | 441 | 584 | 1,448 |
| Number of children inspected at schools by Dental Officers | 52,931 | 46,473 | 59,677 | 153,293 |
| Number found to require treatment | 32,733 | 29,397 | 38,069 | 97,736 |
| Percentage requiring treatment | 60.8% | 63.2% | 63.8% | 63.8% |
| Additional number inspected at centres | 63,583 | 65,501 | 71,452 | 76,291 |
| Total number found to require treatment | 96,316 | 94,898 | 109,521 | 174,027 |
| Total cases treated | 82,650 | 82,564 | 93,823 | 116,499 |
| Attendances | 166,874 | 172,063 | 202,571 | 269,061 |
| Ordinary treatment sessions | 15,890 | 15,760 | 19,563 | 27,366 |
| General anaesthetic sessions | 1,559 | 1,516 | 1,494 | 1,725 |
| Temporary teeth extracted | 101,066 | 93,981 | 96,561 | 103,922 |
| Permanent teeth extracted | 16,247 | 15,850 | 17,283 | 19,727 |
| Temporary teeth restored by fillings | 23,960 | 21,684 | 26,353 | 37,787 |
| Permanent teeth restored by fillings | 53,388 | 54,356 | 66,680 | 92,576 |
| Fillings in temporary teeth | 25,191 | 24,206 | 27,556 | 40,120 |
| Fillings in permanent teeth | 58,000 | 60,568 | 72,369 | 102,178 |
| Other operations—temporary teeth | 33,489 | 39,523 | 45,985 | 59,863 |
| Other operations—permanent teeth | 25,485 | 28,199 | 30,291 | 44,250 |
| Local anaesthetics for extraction | 20,557 | 21,300 | 24,667 | 27,020 |
| Local anaesthetics for conservative treatment | 1,577 | 1,607 | 3,753 | 7,072 |
| General anaesthetics | 35,102 | 34,097 | 33,448 | 37,887 |
| Cases for whom immediate treatment was completed | ‡ | 8,481* | 13,135 | 15,196 |
| Cases discharged as dentally fit | ‡ | 40,369* | 63,638 | 81,488 |
J Figures not available;
* Figures for May-December only;
Table III
| 1946 | 4.2 to 1 |
| 1947 | 4.93 to 1 |
| 1948 | 4.8 to 1 |
| 1949 | 3.72 to 1 |
| 1950 | 3.29 to 1 |
| 1951 | 3.43 to 1 |
| 1952 | 3.86 to 1 |
| 1953 | 4.69 to 1 |
Orthodontics
As formerly, the provision of facilities and staff for the correction of malocclusions
continued to be a major problem. Clinicians were encouraged to take part in this special
form of treatment within their capabilities and the time at their disposal. By this means,
290 patients were accepted for treatment, an increase of 81 on 1952. Most appliances
used were of the removable type and all were produced at the Council's Central Dental
Laboratory. Results were exceedingly gratifying and dental officers and technicians who
undertook this work are worthy of special commendation.
In addition to the work undertaken in the routine sessions, 138 cases were accepted
by the part-time orthodontist, who continued to devote three sessions a week to this
special duty.